Kara Osborne has been promoted to Director, focusing on sales, marketing and referral management, where she has been an integral part of the team's growth and success. She has extensive sales management experience in home health and hospice. Kara has worked closely with some of the largest agencies in the country to design and develop all sales, marketing and admissions related processes and predictive tools. She has been instrumental in developing the Simione Referral Management Process that has allowed the redesign and implementation of improved referral/admission processes. A Simione employee since 2010, Kara earned an MBA from Southern Illinois University.

A Simione employee since 2009,Jared Shure has been promoted to Director, specializing in mergers and acquisitions for the financial team. Jared has experience assisting and preparing business valuations for home health and hospice agencies, preparing budgets, cash flow projections and pro-forma financial statements for home health and hospice agencies. In addition, Jared has developed an OASIS Calculator and created other audit tools for use on clinical audits and clinical due diligence efforts, and created various rate calculators for home health and hospice reimbursement rates. He is a graduate of American University with a B.S. in business management.

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Partnerships & Affiliations: How to Have a Happy Marriage or an Ugly Divorce

Whether seeking new solutions, greater financial stability or a new strategic direction, more and more home care and hospice agencies are taking the proverbial "walk down the aisle," choosing one or more business partners who share their goals to improve business performance and the bottom line.

"Every agency can identify important reasons to affiliate with other health care organizations," says Kristy Wright, RN, BSN, MBA, FAAN, Director, Simione Healthcare Consultants, "and the most important decisions rest in choosing the 'right' partner and sustaining a level of commitment and flexibility to implement and manage the relationship over time."

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Medical Supplies (Routine vs. Non-Routine)

Medical supplies are essential to providing home health care and carrying out physician orders for the treatment or diagnosis of the patient's illness or injury. But when it comes to cost reporting, bookkeeping, and billing, medical supplies tend to be one of the more neglected areas of business operations.

According to Mark Romano, Manager, Simione Healthcare Consultants, the reason medical supplies tend to be "forgotten" can be attributed to the fact that the payment for the cost of the supplies is bundled under home health PPS. "Reimbursement is already incorporated into the per visit and episode payment rates. Providers tend not to track their supplies as diligently as they should, presumably because it does not have an impact on their reimbursement," he says.

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Recruiting Top Talent in Home Care and Hospice

It's a new year and new day in executive recruitment. Health systems today use executive recruiters to fill their top jobs, and senior executives use them to establish their leadership teams. Both have a single goal: They want THE BEST. While you work with a recruiter, Simone Healthcare Consultants can provide you with an experienced and knowledgeable interim executive. You will be assured that your organization receives unparalleled leadership from a consultant who has a strong background in executive management.

Interim management from Simione Healthcare Consultants provides your organization with uninterrupted executive management and relieves remaining managers from the stress of covering a vacancy. This allows your organization to continue quality operations, while also benefiting from the industry's leading consultation services. In addition, Simione Healthcare Consultants is available to participate in the selection process of the ideal permanent candidate. Our collaboration with leading industry recruiters supports successful placement of home care and hospice talent.

To learn more about how Simione can help with your interim management and executive recruitment requirements, contact Marian Entin, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, at mentin@simione.com or call 800.949.0388.

If you are like many home care executives, you have certainly heard of "accrual-based accounting," but you may not be very familiar with the concept. Some wonder what "accrual" is and how it works. If you think you would benefit from more detail on accrual-based accounting, you are not alone! If you learn more about the difference between accrual and cash basis accounting, new information will guide you through the process and underscore the role of accounting methods in keeping your agency on the path for success.

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An Industry Leading Benchmarking Tool

Real-time, automated benchmarks designed to compare your agency performance against others across the U.S.

Comprehensive support to improve efficiency, enhance relationships and increase profitability

THOUGHT LEADERS IN HOME CARE AND HOSPICE

Founded in 1966, Simione™ Healthcare Consultants provides comprehensive business solutions for home health and hospice in the areas of finance, operations, compliance and risk, sales and marketing, information technology, and mergers and acquisitions. Simione's experts and tools support performance improvement across the healthcare continuum, engaging hospitals, health networks and agencies to improve quality, reduce cost, and minimize risk for more effective delivery of patient care.